NCS teams, players to keep an eye on

From the West Alameda County Conference to the North Bay League to the newly winterized North Coast League, there are girls teams that will be considered favorites in their league and have very good players of which to boast.   From those aforementioned leagues, here are some top teams and players to watch for.   Berkeley   The Yellowjackets are coming into a real window of opportunity, here. They have a bunch of returning talent, some players back from injury and not only are the favorite in the WACC, but will make noise in the NCS Division I picture as well. They are already off to a fast, 4-0 start and have a bunch of players to watch for.   FORWARDS: Myah Polzin, a senior, is returning from an ACL injury after she was the top goal scorer as a freshman and sophomore. As a senior she will be a force. Erin Freeman will be out on a wing, and the junior is also returning from an ACL injury. This is actually her first official high school season. She is a great goal scorer, creative in front of the goal, a strong aerial threat and is strong 1v1. Sophia Alberga is a junior forward that is fast, crafty and very determined. She is a very good finisher.   <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/12/Shima-Dixon.jpeg-crop-2036x1337-1670529629.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-68983" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Berkeley High</figcaption></figure>   MIDFIELDERS: Believe it or not there is a third Berkeley girl returning from an ACL injury and this is Alexandra Freeman, a midfielder, who is a great distributor, almost impossible to mark 1v1 and just loves to play the game. [player_tooltip player_id='20189' first='Shima' last='Dixon'], a UC San Diego commit, is a very crafty and determined attacking midfielder. Zoe Fung, a junior, is technical, connects play well and reads the game well. Terren Davis is a freshman midfielder who is going to be special. She is very technical, competitive and moves off the ball very well.   DEFENDERS: Ruby Hill is a Bates College commit who plays outside back and is very fast, an aerial threat and a true scoring threat from the back. Sabine Meggyesy is a brick wall of a defender, but also incredibly fast and athletic. Nobody outworks her. Amelie Haji is a senior with good aerial strength, is a good 1v1 defender and can serve the ball in or be a threat with her long throw. Willa Hooven is a junior who is a 1v1 specialist, but can also help settle and build up play. Autumn Dalton, a sophomore, helps build from the back and is a great presence and an even harder worker.   Cardinal Newman   Cardinal Newman will make a push for the NBL Oak title, returning seven starters from a team that was competitive in the league a season ago. They will be led by two very good seniors. One is Natalia Belmonte who is a defender, but can play anywhere. Sam Fenske can play as a midfielder or forward and can really help ignite the attack.   [player_tooltip player_id='20213' first='Sofia' last='Lightner'] and [player_tooltip player_id='18972' first='Abella' last='Hunter'] are two juniors that will be key contributors. Both play in the midfield or as a forward. They will be part of a group of players that will be very solid from top to bottom, and they will have several underclassmen in the rotation, setting them up to be good in coming years as well.   Healdsburg   Healdsburg will look to be in the mix in the NBL's Redwood division, and if they are, youth shall lead the Greyhounds.   The team only has three seniors, and more than half the team are freshman or sophomore. What the Greyhounds will look to do is improve as the season goes along. The level of play is increasing each year at Healdsburg and the future is bright.   Viola Santana is the top returning senior. She is very skilled, but also she is determined and tough. She plays central defender for her club, Santa Rosa United, but has been the top scorer for Healdsburg over the last three years, scoring over 20 goals in one season.   Montgomery   The Montgomery girls will also be in the mix for the NBL Oak title, and the Vikings just recently had three seniors (pictured above) sign their national letters of intent on signing day. These three seniors will be very key players in leading Montgomery to another very competitive season.   The rest of the team will be a combination of role players from last year's varsity as well as some that were on JV last year, sprinkled in with a few freshman. There will be some inexperience, but they are team players who will help this team get better as the season goes on.   [player_tooltip player_id='19645' first='Kalani' last='Gonzales'], Senior, Forward   Gonzales committed to the University of Hawaii-Hilo, and will be one of the teams top offensive threats. She has tremendous speed and is a very creative player, that will be looking to set up scoring chances for the team.   Michelle Salas, Senior, Keeper   Salas just committed to Cal Lutheran, and will be very important to the team. She is very athletic and works as hard as anyone. She is a leader by example and she does great in organizing her back line. Her communication will be key as she will be playing with three new defenders in the back.   Janae Schwan, Senior, Midfielder   Schwan is heading to Chico State and will be an important part of the Vikings offensive success and to the overall organization of the team. She is a great finisher who can shoot from distance. She's also a big part of leading the young players.   Sonoma Academy   Last year the Coyotes played in the North Bay League's Redwood Division and won the league, despite being a small school that plays its other sports in the North Coast League. This year, a handful of NCL teams have moved to winter soccer. Sonoma Academy is the favorite to win the league in its inaugural winter season.   The Coyotes reached the NCS Division IV semifinals last season and ended up with a bid in the NorCal State playoffs. They graduated a group of quality seniors but still return some key players.   A pair of seniors will be major contributors as keeper Remi Shafer and Amy Quintana will be very important. Shafer is a keeper that had an outstanding junior season, while Quintana is the vocal leader of the defense. She is recovering from an injury suffered during volleyball, and will hopefully be on the field soon.   Junior [player_tooltip player_id='19607' first='Julia' last='Bilal'] will be a very important, dynamic attacking player for Sonoma Academy as she will play midfield and forward. [player_tooltip player_id='20029' first='Olivia' last='Elliott'] is another junior who is very talented. She is a midfielder who is very athletic and has a great presence. She will be on the field soon as she recovers from a club soccer injury.   Sophomore Kate Bruntlett will be a force up top as she is a great target player who is very capable of scoring a lot of goals.

From the West Alameda County Conference to the North Bay League to the newly winterized North Coast League, there are girls teams that will be considered favorites in their league and have very good players of which to boast.